Eyes Turned Skyward
by ifonly13
Summary: "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." – Unknown :: For Lindsey.


_**Eyes Turned Skyward**_

* * *

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." – Unknown

* * *

"You ever want to go into space?"

She hums, rolling over to face him in the bed. She doesn't bother pushing her hair off her face, letting it lie tangled across her nose and in her eyelashes. The sheets are tucked up under her chin as she looks at him, eyes completely serious. "Space? Like outer space?"

"Yeah," he says, scooting closer to her and tugging some of the linen sheets off her body, baring her shoulders and the gentle curve of her breast. His eyes drift but she sneaks her hand out and tips his chin up. "Want to go to space?"

Beckett shakes her head, taking the blankets back. "Not really. I like Earth just fine."

"But it's space, Beckett!" He flops onto his back, throwing his hands into the air before they land over his eyes. "How can you stay on Earth here when there's a whole universe out there!"

She snuggles deeper into the pillows, trying to block him out. "Easy. It's warm here. Space is cold."

There's a brief, chilly breeze before his face appears under the covers with her, face an inch from hers. "It's winter here. It's cold anyway. And space has stars and planets and asteroids and -"

She cuts him off with a kiss, one that he deepened as he shifted over her. With a gentle shove, she meets his eyes, hand cupping his cheek. "We can see the stars from right here." When he hums, she flips them, her hair falling over his face. She rolls her hips against his, feeling his groan rumble up against her. "Maybe even planets if we're real good."

* * *

He's blindfolded so she can't really blame his wandering fingers. But her ass? Seriously?

She swats him away, grabbing his wrist to keep him on track. "Castle. Step up."

His step is dramatic and he nearly falls on his face when the ground is further away than he thought. Karma. "You gonna tell me where you're kidnapping me to?"

"Not if you keep groping me," she warns. "Taking a left."

It took some research, some string pulling – she knows just as many people as he does – but she managed to get them in on short notice. She's going to owe favors but it'll be worth it.

She has to unblindfold him when they reach the front desk; there's paperwork, consent forms to sign and he needs to do those himself. When she takes the bandana from around his eyes, he shakes his head like a dog, ruffling his hair.

"Where are we?"

The receptionist looks up, starts to speak but Beckett steps in. "You know when astronauts say 'Houston, we have a problem'?" He nods, looking a strange combination of excited and nervous. "This is Houston."

His mouth falls open, gaping at her. "You brought me to Texas?"

"Not quite. Fill these out so we can get into space," she says, snagging the clipboards from the desk.

He's quiet, strangely so, as they fill out the forms while sitting on one of the couches in the little waiting area. She's suddenly not so sure this was a good idea, this going behind his back and planning something without asking him at all. He loves surprises. Why would this be any different?

On the walk down the jetway, his hand finds hers, fingers tangling together. His palm is sweaty and his grip a little tighter than usual. She wants to tease him about it but the way he is acting right now, she decides against it. Teasing is the last thing he needs and she really can't deal with a panicky Castle right now when she's teetering on the edge of it herself.

It's not real space but it's the closest she could get.

They strap into an airplane against the sides. There's only one other person in the plane with them, one of the instructors from the institute. He's calmly telling them the plan and Beckett feels Castle's grip loosen, move to just resting on her thigh, fingers rubbing little circles into her jeans.

"So there's gonna be five parabolas that the pilot's gonna fly," the man's explaining as they feel the plane jolt into life below their feet. "Each time, we'll get about thirty seconds of weightlessness. Just like in space. Cool, right?"

She glances at Castle, waiting for his reaction. He's smiling, barely, but it's there. Good. "Got your gun on you, Han?"

"Does that make you Chewbacca or Leia?" he asks, that grin widening and she doesn't mind that he's teasing her.

"Let you figure that one out when were out in the great unknown, Castle."

The instructor waits on the other side of the plane, phone out in his hand as they get to the right altitude to start the parabolas. The guy's demeanor, like this is just another day in the office – she's sure she gets the same appearance when faced with murderers – is reassuring. She thinks Castle can feel that too as he finally relaxes into the back of the seat.

"'Kay, folks," the man says, sitting up. "Pilot's gonna do the first dip now. Wanna unhook from the seat so we can fly around for half a minute?"

He helps them to their feet, shaking his hands out as he paces down to the other end of the plane.

Castle snags her fingers as soon as the instructor turns away. "Beckett…"

He doesn't get a chance to finish whatever statement as the plane goes down. Their feet gently lift off the floor, bodies drifting apart but not far because Castle still has a grip on her hand.

The weightlessness is exhilarating but she's watching his face. The nerves which had been so evident ten minutes ago are gone, replaced with joy. He's wiggling his feet in mid-air which displaces them, making them tip backwards.

"And we're going up again," the instructor warns them, holding onto one of the cloth handles on the side. "Get your feet under you."

Beckett steers them toward their seats so that when gravity returns, they fall into the cushions rather than on the bottom of the plane. She drags her hand through her hair, getting caught in the tangles before looking over at him.

His eyes are bright, mouth open in awe.

"Wow. Speechless. There are perks of space," Beckett teases.

They try somersaults the next time, corkscrews down the length of the plane the third. The fourth time, the instructor opens a bag of M&Ms, letting the colorful candy float in the air. Beckett watches as Castle tries to eat them without her hands.

The last time, Castle spins her, dipping her down over his forearm for a breathless kiss that tastes faintly of chocolate and laughter.

"You are definitely Princess Leia," he says once they get off the plane, thanking the instructor and pilot on their way out.

"Yeah?" she asks. "I do like scruffy-looking Nerf herders."

Castle wraps his hands around her waist, tugging her back against him. "Who you calling scruffy?"

"You." She twists her head back, placing a kiss on his jaw. "Now let me go. We need to get to the planetarium by noon. They've got a presentation on supernovas."

Beckett doesn't have a chance to take two steps before he's pressing her against the wall, nose sliding across hers. "Oh, I love you."

She has to push up on her toe tips a little further than usual thanks to her flats but she's able to touch her lips to his lightly. "I know."


End file.
